Reconnecting
by Gunnery Sergeant
Summary: Sequel to "Reconnection", Ziva version. What impact did the events of "Aliyah" have on Gibbs and Ziva? Will they be able to save their relationship? Will Gibbs be able to save Ziva? You can bet he will, but perhaps not in the way you're expecting!
1. Chapter 1

**Reconnecting**

Sequel to "Reconnection, Ziva version"

A/N: Set about ten days after the events of "Aliyah". Spoilers for the last four episodes of season six.

In "Aliyah", we saw Tony close his phone and then the scene changed to show us Ziva, but it doesn't mean that both events happened at the same time. For the purpose of this story, a few days elapse between Gibbs' conversation with Vance and Ziva's capture.

**-----**

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was sitting in his basement, eyes fixed on the spot where, up to ten days before, the "Kelly" had been.

She was now at the marina, getting ready to be furbished, but at the moment Gibbs' thought weren't for his boat.

He was thinking of the many things that had happened in his basement while he was working on her.

He remembered the evening Ziva had killed Ari, his shock upon seeing the renegade Mossad officer collapse at his feet with a hole in his head—a fitting punishment for what he had done to Kate – and the compassion he had felt when he had realized how much pulling the trigger had cost the young woman.

He remembered his return from Mexico, his surprise in discovering Ziva had been hiding in his house and the uncharacteristic, unrestrained way she had embraced him as she thanked him for coming to help her.

He remembered the night he had revealed his vampire nature and love to Ziva and the mixture of awe and joy he had felt when she had offered herself – her heart, her body, her love, her blood – to him.

He remembered the long hours spent working together on the boat, talking and making projects for the future, and the times they had made love beneath the hull or fucked against the craft's smooth wood surface.

He remembered the evening after Jen's funeral, Ziva's whispered words, "I'll leave tomorrow morning," and his fierce reply, "I'll find a way to bring you back, I swear it," before they had loved each other for the last time in God-only-knew how long.

He remembered the energetic and passionate "welcome back" he had given Ziva after her return to NCIS—and to him. It had been a good thing it had been Friday night and they had not been on call on for the weekend, because the next day they had both walked funny.

Gibbs returned to the present and gulped down his glass of bourbon. The liquid was a poor substitute for what he really wanted to taste now: Ziva's blood. Warm, tasty, rich and given with love and trust.

He closed his eyes as what was becoming a sadly familiar pain seized his chest as he thought of his mate.

_How could things go so wrong and so quickly?_ he wondered for the umpteenth time since his return from Tel Aviv.

Up to three weeks ago, he had been one of the happiest men alive. He had had everything he could ask for…should he have sensed it wasn't going to last?

His gut had churned in foreboding when Vance had sent him to Los Angeles, but he had thought it was due to the fact he would have to face Macy again. She was a smart woman and as much a mastiff as he was. He had been resigned to have to work with her, but he hadn't wanted to take Ziva with him because he hadn't wanted to bring their relationships, both the working and the private one, under Macy or Callen's scrutiny.

Now he wondered if his gut hadn't instead tried to alert him about Rivkin's reappearance in Ziva's life.

He closed his eyes as questions filled his mind.

Why hadn't she talked to him about Rivkin?

Why hadn't she come to him when it became clear Rivkin had been involved in Abin Tabal's death?

Why hadn't she trusted him?

Why she had she given him an ultimatum in Tel Aviv?

And why, most of all, had he chosen Tony over the woman he loved, the custodian of his most guarded secret?

The answer to the last question was simple enough.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs had served and protected the United States of America since he had joined the Marines at age eighteen. He had fought, killed, shed blood and lost friends for his country. In a way, he had even lost his family for America, because Shannon wouldn't have witnessed the murder of a Marine if she hadn't been living with him on a Marine base where he had served.

There was no way he could have put his feelings, desires and needs before his duty to his country. There was no way he could have chosen a foreign operative, divided between her loyalty to her father and Mossad and her loyalty to him and NCIS, over an agent that was completely faithful to NCIS and America.

Also, how could have he abandoned Tony when he was partially responsible for the mess DiNozzo had ended up in?

He had noticed Ziva was behaving strangely. They hadn't seen each other in private since his return from LA and some of the excuses she had found not to visit him had been unconvincing.

Torn between his desire to trust Ziva as her lover and his need to know what was going on as her boss, he had compromised and told Tony to stay on Rivkin, although he hadn't predicted what was going to happened.

Gibbs knew there had been no second ends in Tony's actions. He had been impulsive, acting more like a friend than an agent, but he hadn't been jealous as Eli David had accused him of. _He _had been the jealous one in all that mess, even if he couldn't believe Ziva had cheated on him with Rivkin, not after all the plans they had made for the future.

_//I didn't cheat on you, Jethro,// _Ziva's voice seemed to say in his mind._ //My father has always been fixated on the idea that Tony and I were lovers. It goes back to the time when you were in Mexico and I often went to visit him after dinner, to discuss work or spend a few hours as friends. My father had people spy on me back then. As for Rivkin, my father would have loved to see him as my husband and the father of my children—he wants a male heir. I just played along because I wanted to protect what we have together. I love you Jethro, and as soon as I'm done with this I'll come home and tell and show you again, I promise.//_

The voice in his head quieted and Gibbs frowned, looking at the bottle of bourbon with suspicion. He had drunk less since he and Ziva had gotten together – not that he had ever been a heavy drinker – and he now wondered if his tolerance to alcohol had decreased, causing him to become inebriated sooner than in the past.

He sighed as he poured himself another shot of bourbon. In a way, he hoped to get drunk and forget what Vance had told him that morning, which was the reason he had started drinking in the first place.

_"She saved your life by shooting and killing her half-brother. Ari was out of control, so Ziva's father sent her to eliminate him. She kills Ari, earns your trust. Two birds, one bullet. Eli played you."_

Gibbs didn't want to believe Vance's words. He couldn't, wouldn't believe his relationship with Ziva, first as boss and subordinate, then as mentor and pupil and then as friends and finally as lovers could be based on a lie.

_//And you are right, Jethro. It wasn't a lie_.// the Ziva-like voice in his head answered. //_My father's orders were to help Ari leave America and prevent you from killing him. I made the decision to kill him. I decided a good man's life was more important that the life of the brother I still loved but couldn't recognize anymore. It was the hardest decision I've ever made—and I never regretted it.//_

He smirked, swallowed his bourbon and shook his head. Alcohol had never had such effect on him, but since he was at it, he decided to indulge the "voice" in his head a bit longer.

"Then how could Vance know about it?" he asked aloud and his voice echoed in the mostly empty basement.

_//I suspect my father read between the lines – or should I say lies? – in your report about Ari's death. He never confronted me about it, but knowing him, he decided the information could one day turn useful.//_

"Useful?"

_//Jethro, my father wants nothing more than to destroy my loyalty to you! He wants me to serve only him and Mossad. He told me while we were in Tel Aviv. But I promise you, this mission will be the last one! As I told you, I need to trust the people I work with—and I no longer trust my father.//_

"And Tony?"

_//Tony I can trust…because I trust you and you trust him.//_

"Then why that scene at the airport, Ziver?" Gibbs exclaimed angrily, slamming the glass down on the workbench top.

_//Because my father had asked me to do something and I felt it was my duty as a daughter to do it. I was sure that if you knew, you would have gone toe to toe with him and I didn't want that. So I put you in front of an impossible decision, fully knowing how you would react.//_

"You knew I'd choose to leave you behind?" he was shocked.

_//Yes. I know you, Jethro. I knew you would have left me behind to give me time to clear my mind and decide what I wanted or with whom I wanted to be. It's how you are on the job—you never give us easy answers, you want us to figure them out by ourselves.// _

Gibbs grunted. It was a fair enough answer…

"Of course it is!" he snapped aloud. "I'm having this conversation with myself, supplying all the answers I want to hear."

He stood up and swayed. He was indeed drunker than he thought. Time to go to bed. Maybe this time he would be able to sleep for the whole night without waking up looking for Ziva at his side.

Maybe…

-----------------

Reviews...Please?


	2. Chapter 2

To dolphinsiren77: thanks for the review! And yes, the whole first chapter was about Gibbs remembering and thinking...and "talking" with Ziva, who, mind you, as I stated in my A/N, is not yet in the terrorists' hands at the time they "talk", but probably still on the ship to Somalia.

**-----**

_She is in a large, rectangular room. The floor is concrete and the walls are made of naked, grey bricks. There is a window blocked by bars behind her and a door of solid wood in front of her. The air is stale, filled with dust and the smell of smoke._

_She is sitting on a chair in the centre of the room, her arms and legs tied to prevent any movement. Her head is lowered, her chin touching her chest, for keeping it up is too much of an effort. All her muscles ache and she can taste blood in her mouth._

_She hears footfalls come closer and she tenses, raising her head just a little. Her view of the door is obstructed by the hair falling messily over her face, and her left eye is so swollen she can't open it._

_The door opens and two men step inside her prison. One stays by the threshold, while the other approaches the chair. He stops in front of her and the smell of smoke assaults her nose. _

_A hand enters her field of visions and she tenses, waiting for a blow, but the man just tugs at her Star of David pendant and breaks the gold chain around her neck. In a way it's even worse than a blow…_

_Then a hand roughly seizes her hair and pulls her head back, as the man leans over her and says, "Tell me everything you know about NCIS." He applies more force on her head, causing her neck to bend in an unnatural way and she cries out in pain._

"_Help! Please Jethro, love, give me strength!" she thinks as the terrorists backhands her._

Gibbs woke up with a start, his heart pounding in his chest, his breath hurried and Ziva's desperate cry echoing in his ears.

He switched on the bedside table lamp with shaking hands and reclined back against the mattress, trying to collect his thoughts.

There was something strange about his dream…it seemed too detailed, too real to be just the product of his subconscious. He could almost smell the smoke and the stale air, feel the sun on her back…experience Ziva's pain.

He rubbed a hand across his face as he tried to understand what was going on. He knew some vampires were precognitive, but he was also aware he wasn't among them.

_So, was it just a dream? The result of my worries for Ziva?_ he wondered.

_//No…Jethro…I need…your help…//_ Ziva's voice echoed in his mind, soft, slow, as if she was too exhausted to talk.

Gibbs rose from the bed, opened his closet, and knelt on the floor. He searched among his stuff until he found the hidden safe where he kept the book on his kin he had used to teach Kelly about their heritage. It was the same book his Mom had used with him, and he hadn't taken it out of the safe since his daughter's death.

He retrieved the old volume and sat with his back against the closet. He blew away the dust covering the book, opened it and went straight to the index page. He scanned the various topics listed, looking for something that might explain what was going on between him and Ziva, until he read "**Mental connection between vampires and their mates—page 305"**.

He went to page 305 and read it quickly. Several lines caught his attention:

**In some pairings, the connection between the mates is so strong and deep they can communicate with just their thoughts. One of the partners can "see" what the other does, and they can have conversations inside their minds, even if their locations are fairly distant. **

**This kind of connection has been known to happen mostly in vampire/vampire pairings, but there are records of a few vampire/human pairings that have managed to develop this skill. In all these cases, the human partners had demonstrated to be remarkably strong willed and to have complete trust in their vampire mates.**

**The mental connection can develop at any moment, without warning, but it isn't automatic or invasive. The partners can choose the thoughts they want to share and keep the others for themselves.**

He closed the book and leant his head against the closet's door. So it was real—he hadn't imagined his conversation with Ziva a few evenings before. She had been really talking to him and it hadn't been his subconscious giving him the answers he wanted to hear.

A smile appeared briefly on his face, soon to be replaced by a look of worry.

Ziva was in danger—hurt, in the hands of some terrorist and he wasn't with her, wherever she was. How could he help her?

Keeping his mounting fears under control, Gibbs tried to reach for her.

"Ziva? Ziver, are you all right? Answer me!"

_//Jethro…I'm here…//_ came the tired reply.

"How are you? Can you talk?"

_//Yes…I'm alone…he had to go away. I said nothing…about NCIS. He said he'll be back…in two days…and he'll make me talk.//_

He gritted his teeth. Two days. He had two days to take her away from her prison. But how?

"Ziver, I want to help you. Where are you?" he asked, as he rose and walked back to the bed. He always kept a notepad and a pen on his nightstand, for all the times he was called during the night and needed to take notes about a case.

_//In Africa…Somalia.//_

"Where in Somalia?" Silence. "Come on, Ziver, answer me…" he urged.

_//Outskirts of Borama…near the Ethiopian border…//_

"Outskirts of Borama," he repeated as he wrote the name down. "Can you tell me something about the place where they are keeping you?"

_//An abandoned factory…I saw an oil refinery…as they dragged me inside. The walls were painted…in faded red and white…//_

"Good Ziver, good. Now rest, save your strength. I'll find a way to help you. I swear I will," he said, trying to sound calm and confident.

_//I know you will…Jethro…//_ Ziva's mental voice trailed off and Gibbs took a deep breath to release some of his tension.

Hearing his Ziva, who was always so full of fire, sound so exhausted had shaken him more than feeling her pain. She was on the verge of breaking down and he knew that should she do it, should she talk, her life would no longer be worth anything to her captors.

Gibbs took a moment to collect his thoughts. He knew he couldn't use the information he had received from Ziva to ask for help via official channels. There was no way he could explain how he had been in contact with her in a plausible way and also, the red tape necessary to have the US forces involved in the rescue would take longer than two days.

A call to Eli David was a possibility, but he didn't trust the man to go rescue his daughter. So he decided to leave it as his final option, the one to use if the phone call he was about to place failed to give the results he hoped for.

He dialled a number on his cell phone by memory and waited impatiently, pacing in his room, until a sleepy voice answered, _"Bill Hendricks."_

"Bill, it's me, Leroy," Gibbs said.

"_Leroy! What is it my friend? Are you all right?"_ Bill's voice was by now fully alert.

"I need help, Bill- urgent help."

"_For what? Are you in danger?"_

"Not me—Ziva."

"_Your Ziva?"_ Bill had met Ziva once, when they had all gone out for dinner.

"Yes. She is prisoner of a group of terrorists in Somalia. They're torturing her and she is nearing the end of her endurance. She must be rescued within the next two days. Do you have any contact in the area? Someone that might help her?"

Bill was silent for a while then answered, _"The Ethiopian dean is an old friend of mine. He was born in America and we posed as master and slave before the Civil War. I'm sure he will help us if he can."_

"Good. Ziva is held prisoner in Borama, a town near the Ethiopian border. Do you have something to take notes handy?"

"_Sure."_

"Good, then write this…" Gibbs repeated to Bill all the information Ziva had given him and he also described the room where she was held based on the memories of his "dream".

"_I got__ everything, Leroy. I'll make a couple of calls and then I'll let you know, my friend."_

"Thank you, Bill," he murmured, relieved.

"_Thank me when Ziva is safe…But tell me, why are you asking my help? There __are many American or European soldiers in the area."_

"I can't go through official channels, Bill. I didn't get a phone call—Ziva and I talked with our minds."

"_A mental connection? Between a vampire and a human? But it's amazing. It's such a rare gift! You must tell me more about it-"_

"I will, Bill—just not now."

"_Yeah, of course, you are right. I'll call as soon as I have news, Leroy."_

The line went dead and Gibbs closed the cell phone. He sat down on his bed, preparing himself for a long wait.

He desperately wished to hear Ziva's voice again, to feel she was still alive, but he didn't want to disturb her if she was resting.

So he reclined on the bed holding his phone close and murmured, "Hold on Ziver, hold on. Help is coming."

-----

Reviews...please?

A/N: I've recently read that during the filming of "South by Southwest", the script called for Gibbs to jump on the helicopter that was shooting at him and the others and take it down. Mark Harmon refused to do that scene, saying Gibbs is very good at what he does, but is no super hero. So he did what he does so well -- the sniper -- and took down the chopper in a more plausible way.

In a way, Mark Harmon echoed my thoughts when I wrote this story. Vampire! Gibbs has gifts, but he is not a super man. Also I wanted to keep this as plausible (considering the premise!) as possible. Hence the reason the actual rescue -- because you know there will be one! -- will be carried out by Ethiopian military forces.


	3. Chapter 3

**-----**

Gibbs spent the next several hours pacing inside his house, drinking coffee and holding his cell phone in his hand.

Luckily it was Saturday and his team wasn't on call, so he didn't have to phone Vance to explain him why he wouldn't be at work.

Bill had called him back at sunrise, telling him he had contacted his Ethiopian counterpart and that the man had agreed to help and rescue Ziva. The dean was a high ranking officer in the Ethiopian Army, and had promised to do everything he could to free a fellow vampire's mate.

Once the call had ended, Gibbs had put down the phone as the waiting had started again.

He wasn't good at waiting. No, that wasn't true. As a sniper in the Marines, he had learned to be patient, and to wait calmly for his target. But he was a hands-on man, and he didn't like not knowing what was going on and not being able to do anything to help Ziva.

She hadn't answered his mental calls since their night contact, and while something inside him told him she was still alive, a part of him could hear Bill's voice say, "Sorry, Leroy, she is dead…"

_Sorry__, Gunny, they are both dead…_

No! It couldn't, it wouldn't happen again!

Gibbs almost threw his coffee mug against the wall.

He couldn't lose his mate again, not after just finding her. Sure, he knew Ziva would one day die—even if his blood could lengthen her life, no human could live forever because their bodies weren't made to last indefinitely. But he wanted it to happen many years in the future…Ziva would close her eyes forever while being held in his arms, happy, old, satisfied, surrounded by his and, maybe, if they were really lucky because vampires rarely conceived, their child's love. She wouldn't die in a forsaken place, alone, in pain and scared…no, she wouldn't.

"_Hold on Ziva, hold on",_ he whispered in his mind, _"Help is coming…hold on…"_

**---**

It was already dark and Gibbs had somehow managed to doze on his couch when his cell phone chirped, jerking him awake.

Heart pounding in his chest at the sight of an unknown number on the caller ID display, he answered the call.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs?" a male voice asked.

"Yes."

"I'm Major Zenawi, of the Ethiopian Army," the voice said in a heavily accented English.

His hand tightened around the phone and he made a conscious effort to loosen his grip in order not to break the cell.

"Yes, Major?

"I'm calling from Jijiga Central Hospital. They have admitted a young woman, who has been found by one of our patrols near the border with Somalia. She looks like a tourist victim of a violent robbery. Before losing consciousness, she gave us her name – Ziva David – and your name and phone number."

Gibbs nodded to himself. The major was reporting the official version of the rescue, one he would be able to repeat to Vance when he phoned to alert the director he was leaving for Africa.

"How is she?" he asked, strengthening himself for receiving bad news.

"Miss David's condition is serious, but not worrying. Her vitals are stable and she is being treated for broken bones, abrasions, cuts, minor internal damage. The doctors are positive she will completely recover."

Gibbs let out a long, relieved sigh. "Thank you for calling, Major Zenawi. I'll take the first flight to Africa and I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Call this number when you know at what hour your plane will land in Addis Ababa, Mr. Gibbs. I'll send a car to take you to Jijiga," Zenawi replied.

"I'll do it, Major. Thank you."

Gibbs closed the phone and collapsed against the back of the couch, rubbing a hand across his stubble-covered face.

Ziva was safe and she would recover.

He sent a brief thanks to God for saving Ziva and for making him a vampire and giving him the means to help her. There had been times in the past when he had cursed his nature—but no longer.

He took a moment to formulate a plan of action, then stood up and walked to his study, where his rarely used laptop was.

In spite of his well-known dislike for computers and modern technologies, he actually knew how to surf the internet and to reserve tickets to fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. It wasn't a direct flight and he would need to change planes twice, in Paris and in Cairo, but unless he involved NCIS and the military – which he didn't want to do – it was the fastest option.

When he was done, he called Zenawi, told the major when he would land and then went to pack his travel bag, throwing in it some of the clothes Ziva had left in his closet.

Finally he sat at his kitchen table to eat a late breakfast-lunch-dinner and then went to bed to catch a few hours of sleep before his plane left in the morning.

**-----**

The following morning, at 5.00 AM sharp Gibbs boarded a cab to Dulles airport. As soon as he was settled for the ride, he took out his phone and dialled Vance's number.

The director answered after six rings, and his voice was just a low growl.

"I hope you've a damn good reason to call me at this hour on Sunday, Gibbs."

"I wanted to let you know I'm on my way to the airport, Leon. My flight to Addis Ababa leaves in two hours."

"Addis Ababa? Why the hell are you going there?" Vance's voice was more interested now.

"I got a call from an Ethiopian army major. He told me they rescued a young woman near the Somalia's border. She was pretty beaten up and before losing her senses she gave them my name and phone number."

"A young woman in Somalia…Officer David?!"

"Yeah. She is in bad shape. The major thinks she is a tourist that got too careless and ended up the victim of a robbery, but we both know it's unlikely Ziva was in the Horn of Africa to do some sightseeing."

Vance grunted in agreement.

"I'm going to see how she is. I'll be back as soon as I can. And, Leon, remember what you said in your office? That I have to trust you?" he added, almost in an afterthought.

"Yes."

"Well, you can prove it by not calling Eli David. There has to be a reason Ziva gave my name and number and not her father's and I won't let him get his hands on her until I know what it is. Is that clear, Leon?"

"Yes, Gibbs, it is. As is the fact you still don't understand who is sitting in the big chair."

Gibbs snorted. "I told you, I'm not interested in the big chair. I just want to protect my team—and Ziva is still part of it."

Vance sighed, then said, "All right. Now go, and keep me posted."

"I will, Director."

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Reviews please! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**-----**

Twenty-three hours later Gibbs entered the hall of Jijiga Central Hospital—a grand name for a small building.

It was late evening and the car ride from Addis Ababa had been long and bumpy, spent mostly in silence because his driver, a sergeant, had spoken little English.

He scanned the hall, looking for the reception counter, but his eyes stopped first on two men sitting on both sides of a closed door. They exchanged a look and both men rose to their feet.

He walked toward them, his acute sense of smelling alerting him he was in the presence of two vampires.

He stopped in front of the two men and they all studied each other, before the tallest of the Ethiopians nodded slightly.

"Mr. Gibbs? I'm General Selassie – the local dean – and this is Major Zenawi."

He shook hands with both officers, then Selassie tilted his head toward the door they had been guarding.

"Miss David's room is that way."

Zenawi pushed the door open and the three vampires stepped inside a dimply lit corridor.

As soon as they were alone, Gibbs said, "Thank you General, Major. I've no way to tell you how grateful I am for what you did."

Selassie flashed him a brief smile, his white teeth almost blinding against his ebony skin. "There is no need to thank us, Gibbs. It was a pleasure to help one of our kin."

"Was it a difficult task?"

"No. It looked like they didn't expect trouble. The security was loose. We managed to enter inside the room where Miss David was held by the window you described to Bill. The bond you have with your mate must be really strong to transmit you such detailed information," Selassie commented with a mix of awe and envy. "I can only hope my wife will one day trust me so much…"

Gibbs smiled slightly, then sobered. "Ziva told me the terrorist leader had gone away for a couple of days. Maybe he took some of his men with him. This was why the security was loose."

"Possibly. But does it really matter?"

"No," Gibbs smirked. This wasn't the time to wonder why Ziva's captor wanted to know about NCIS—now it was time for him to see his mate.

The two Ethiopians seemed to read his mind, because they both smiled knowingly.

"Go to her," Selassie said, indicating the door in front of him. "We'll keep guard in the hall. We don't expect trouble, but it's best to be prudent than sorry."

Gibbs nodded in approval and pushed open the door of Ziva's room.

The chamber was small and dark, but his vampire night vision allowed him too see and move well in his surroundings.

Ziva was asleep, lying on her back. Her right forearm was in a cast and the left side of her face was covered by gauze. There were monitors connected to her heart and sensors to check her blood pressure, but she was breathing easily, without the aide of a mask or a nasal cannula.

He stepped by the end of the bed and checked her medical chart, relieved to see it had been compiled in English.

Massive bruising, three cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a broken wrist, suspected minor concussion and internal damage. An impressive array of injuries but, blessedly, nothing that a lot of rest and care couldn't fix—and he would make sure she would get plenty of both.

Gibbs put down the chart and circled the bed. There was a chair by the nightstand and he lowered his tired body onto it. Now that he was finally near Ziva, knowing she would be all right, the tension of the past days and the fatigue of the trans-continental flight were starting to catch up with him now that the adrenaline rush was no longer sustaining him.

He leant forward and studied her face. She looked tense. Her eyeballs moved quickly beneath her eyelids and her brow was furrowed.

Gibbs took her good hand in his own and bent down to brush his lips against her brow.

"Sleep well, Ziver. I'm here now and I won't allow anyone to harm you again," he whispered against her skin.

Almost immediately, Ziva's body relaxed and her brow smoothened.

Gibbs smiled, then, without letting go of her hand, he relaxed against the back of the chair, already feeling sleep creeping over him.

-----

The glare of the sun against his face woke up Gibbs. He blinked his eyes and focused his gaze on Ziva.

His heart surged when he saw she too was awake, although she was staring at him with confusion.

"Are you really here?" she whispered so low he barely heard her despite his sharp vampire hearing.

"Yes, I'm really here," he answered, gently squeezing the hand he was still holding.

Ziva tried to smile in spite of her broken lips. "You came…"

"I'll always come to you. I could never leave you," Gibbs said softly, his eyes fixed on her face.

"You left me in Tel Aviv…"

"Ziver, I'm sorry. I-"

"Never apologize…it's a sign of weakness."

"Not between us."

"Then, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have asked you to make a choice…" her voice trailed off and she swallowed hard.

"Shh…" Gibbs silenced her, caressing her hair with his free hand. "It's okay. It's all in the past. We talked about it, remember?"

Ziva shook her head.

"I'm sure you will. Now just focus on getting better. I want to take you away from here ASAP."

She nodded as her eyelids started to close. Then she opened her eyes again, "Where is 'here'?"

"Jijiga, Ethiopia."

"Oh."

Her eyes closed again, this time for good. Gibbs bent down to pose a light kiss on her lips, then stood up and went to alert the doctors Ziva had regained consciousness.

----

Reviews...please?


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I saw a drop in the review rate for last chapter. :( Didn't you like it? Oh well, I hope that if it was the case, this new chapter will made up for it!

**-----**

When Ziva woke up again, hours later, Gibbs noticed immediately from the look in her eyes that she was more lucid.

They exchanged some pleasantries, he asked her if she wanted him to call the nurse.

"No…I don't feel too bad…as long as I don't move a muscle."

"Then don't," he replied with a smirk, feeling gratified when Ziva glared at him.

Her gaze then softened and she asked, "How can you be here, Jethro? What happened?"

Gibbs leant forward on the chair to be closer to her and keep his voice low as he explained, "It looks like we've developed a mental connection between us, Ziva. It's a…gift…sometime mated vampires have with their partners. It allowed us to communicate mentally and enabled you to send me a detailed description of the place where you were held prisoner. Once I got all the information, I contacted Bill Hendricks and he in turn got in contact with the local vampire community. Two of them, two officers in the Ethiopian army, went to rescue you."

Ziva nodded. "Very efficient," she commented with a hint of humour. "Better than the Marines." He glared at her good-naturedly as she continued, "A mental connection…"

"Yep. But you must not worry. It's not invasive. Your private thoughts are still private."

"I remember that one evening while I was travelling to Somalia, I imagined having a conversation with you—about Michael and Ari…and what happened in Tel Aviv…" Ziva looked at him, questioning.

"You didn't imagine it. You were really talking with me."

"So...everything is fine between us?" she whispered, a hint of anxiety in her eyes.

"Yes, Ziver, everything is fine." Gibbs lowered his head and brushed his mouth over hers. He didn't want to put much pressure on her split lips, but when Ziva opened her mouth and her tongue slipped out, he let go of his restraint and kissed her fully.

They kissed for a few minutes, and her left arm rose to bury in her fingers in his hair, keeping his face pressed against her own.

He relished in the feel of his mate; he didn't mind the stale breath or the taste of drugs in her mouth. He just wanted to be close to her.

When they were done, her hand fell on the mattress and he slowly pulled back to look into her eyes.

"Wow," Ziva whispered with a small grin.

"They all tell me that," Gibbs replied smugly, grinning when her eyes flashed briefly at his comment.

They stared silently at each other, his thumb absently caressing her hand, until suddenly her eyes clouded.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

Ziva didn't answer, but she tried to sit up—only to collapse back against the pillow.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Gibbs hissed, rising to his feet, and blocking her as she tried to move.

"We need to leave, Jethro."

"Why?"

"My father has contacts in all the parts of the world. It won't take long for him to learn we are here."

She tried to sit up another time and cried out in pain. Gibbs pushed her back and said urgently.

"Ziva, you can't leave the hospital. You're fevered because some of your wounds got infected, and you suffered some internal damage and a concussion. The doctors will never let you leave in this condition—nor will I." He hesitated for a moment, unsure it was the right time to speak about the healing powers of his blood. He had briefly touched the topic when they had first gotten together, but Ziva had never asked about it. He thought it was because most humans found the idea of drinking blood disgusting. Shannon too had been like that. However her current situation offered him the right opportunity to breach the subject. "Ziver, listen, do you remember when I told you vampire blood can lengthen humans' life?"

"Yes," she answered, perplexed.

"Well, it can also help them to heal faster. It could make your most serious injuries heal in a few hours instead of days."

Ziva nodded, excited, "A transfusion?"

"No, you don't need so much. Just a little bit…but you must drink it directly from me, as I do from you."

She grimaced. "It's…It's-"

"Disgusting. I know it's so for most humans—but it's the only way. Are you willing to try?"

"I was thinking of "weird", not "disgusting"…not with you. And yes, I'm willing to do it."

Gibbs went to lock the door, then returned to the bed and brought his left wrist to his mouth, biting it with his fangs. It was something he had done once or twice in the past, dripping some blood in the mouth of barely conscious or delirious fellow wounded Marines to keep them alive as they waited for rescue, but it had never felt like this. Now he was going to give his blood to help the woman he loved to heal, the woman that, by loving him, had already healed him in return.

He put his bleeding wrist over her mouth and watched, eyes darkening with desire, as her tongue slid past her lips to touch his skin and cautiously licked his blood.

"You taste sweet," Ziva said, surprised, before she put her open mouth against his wrist and sucked all the blood pouring from the wound.

When the blood started to coagulate, Gibbs raised his arm and licked his wrist to speed up the healing. Once he was done, he looked down at Ziva.

She was observing him with an impish expression.

"What?" he growled.

"That will have to wait till I feel better…" she commented, staring pointedly at his tented slacks, before she added with a wink, "but I promise it will be worth the wait…"

----

Hope you liked this! Reviews?


	6. Chapter 6

**-----**

Two days later Gibbs and Ziva left Jijiga for Addis Ababa, where they separated from Selassie and Zenawi.

The doctors had cleared Ziva for the car trip, but they had advised her to wait at least a week before undertaking the stress of a day long intercontinental flight. The levels of lactic acid in her muscles were still too high and the doctor feared several hours sitting in a confined space might cause her to tie up—badly. As a matter of fact, the bumpy car ride from Jijiga had been bad enough for her, and Gibbs could see the relief on her face when she reclined on their hotel bed.

They had chosen a place Selassie had indicated them. It was small but clean and it wasn't usually attended by Western tourists or businessmen. They hoped it would help them to avoid the spies Ziva insisted her father had everywhere.

"How do you feel?" he asked, handing her a glass of water and her muscle-relaxant medicine.

"Like I was hit by a ton of brigs," she answered, swallowing the pill.

"Bricks," he corrected her, as he toed off his shoes and lay down at her side.

Ziva snuggled against him and he kissed the top of her head.

"So, you're gonna tell me what you were doing in Somalia?"

She nodded against his chest. "Finishing Michael's job. While he was in America, he was following the tracks of a terrorist that runs a training camp in Africa. He found the location of the camp in Tabal's laptop – the one you found burnt in my apartment. As you know Abby was able to recover the data and Vance passed it to my father. My task was to complete Michael's mission: find and kill the camp's leader."

"There was no training camp where you were found…" Gibbs mused aloud.

"We were ambushed on our journey there. My squad was killed and I was taken alive for interrogation. They probably thought a woman would have been easier to break…"

He didn't comment on that, but tightened his hold around her back. "I…was with you while that bastard was interrogating you. He asked about NCIS…Any idea why?"

"No. That question puzzles me. Let's say it, Jethro, NCIS is a small, not exactly well-known agency. Why should an Islamic terrorist ask about it and not Mossad?"

"Yeah, I see your point."

Silence fell over them as Gibbs thought about what he had just heard. They would have to talk with Vance about the terrorist's strange interested for NCIS, but for the moment he just wanted to forget the past weeks and bask in the knowledge that Ziva was back in his arms.

He closed his eyes and was almost starting to doze when she spoke, "You made my father really nervous when we were in Tel Aviv."

"Good," Gibbs answered with a smirk. Then he asked, "Why? Because I eluded security and went out looking for coffee?"

"No, because he could sense my loyalty to you."

"I saw him smirk in triumph when I left you at the airport."

"Yes, he was convinced I had told you I didn't want to come back to work with you. He had no idea of what I had just done."

"But why did you do it, Ziva? Why did you want me to leave you behind?" Gibbs asked.

"Because, for better and for worse, he is my father, Jethro." Her eyes locked with his own, and he could see her inner turmoil reflected in their brown depth. "It's not that easy to turn my back on him."

He nodded, understanding. As Ducky had said, Ziva had always been in a difficult position as liaison officer, but it had never been evident until the Rivkin case had exploded.

"I know," he whispered, caressing her back to make her relax again.

"While we were there, he said he wanted me to return to be loyal only to him and Mossad. I couldn't ignore it, especially after he asked me to complete what Michael had started. Michael …" she looked briefly away, before continuing, "he wasn't my lover, but he was one of my oldest friends. His death was a big blow because so many of my childhood friends are no longer here. I wanted to honour his memory."

Gibbs nodded again. He could understand her feelings; he would have done the same. In a way, it was a bit like what he had done when he had gone to Mexico and killed Shannon and Kelly's murderer.

"And now?" he asked, unable to conceal his concern. Her mission wasn't complete. Would she want to return to Mossad and try to find the training camp again?

_//No,//_ Ziva's mental voice echoed in his mind, and they both widened their eyes in surprise.

Then he nodded and she went on aloud, "I won't return. I'm done with Mossad. I'm done with my father—I can't forgive him for the lie he fed to Vance, fully knowing he would repeat it to you. He wanted to ruin the trust you have in me and this is something I can't accept. How could I ever trust him again after this?"

"Yeah…So what next?"

"I'll return to America with you—my visa hasn't expired yet – and I'll ask my father to be returned to work with NCIS. If he says no, I'll resign from Mossad and then find a way to have my visa renewed. Do you think Vance would help?"

"Hard to say. He's close to your father."

"Then maybe Fornell…I know the FBI is always looking for Arabic translators…" her words died on her lips as Gibbs looked at her stormily. As much as he considered Tobias one of his closest friends, he would never tolerate the idea of Ziva working for the FBI.

He looked at her for a long while, before saying, "I've another idea for getting you permanent residency status."

"Really?"

"Yep. As a matter of fact, we've already talked about it, although we were thinking about the future, after I retired from NCIS."

Ziva's eyes widened in understanding. "Do you really mean it? Even after what happened?"

"Yes. I told you: I love you and I trust you. Do you really think our mental connection would exist if we didn't love and trust each other so deeply?"

She shook her head as a slow smile spread on her face. Her eyes shone and she tilted her head up, bringing her lips close to his own as she whispered, "Let's do it…"

Gibbs grinned and asked, "Here? Now?"

"I still have my passport with me…"

"Well then, let's get up and out. The US Embassy is on Entoto Street, not far from here…" he said, rolling out of the bed and straightening his clothes.

"We also need to find an internet point and a local civil office…" she added, standing up.

"General Selassie can help with that…and act as a witness along with Major Zenawi. Come on, let's go, we'll need to fill out a fat load of paperwork…" Gibbs said, grabbing his wallet.

"But this is a good kind of paperwork, yes?" Ziva commented with a smile.

"Absolutely."

----

Guess what they are planning to do? *g* Reviews?


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for the reviews! Sorry I can't reply privately but today I've no time...so many things to do and just two hands! :)

**Rating is now up to ****M!**

**-----**

Ziva gave Gibbs barely enough time to close and lock the door of their hotel room before she pushed him back against it and pressed her lips and body insistently against his own.

She had always been a passionate lover, so much that more than once he had been grateful his vampire nature had allowed him to keep up with her demands.

Today, however, she was possessed as she all but devoured his mouth. True, they had not been intimate since the night before his trip to LA, but they had been separated for far longer when Vance had terminated her position as liaison officer the previous year, and Ziva hadn't reacted like that at her return.

Gibbs groaned when she bit his neck hard enough to mark it, and he decided he had to slow her down. He raised his hands, grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back, at arms' length.

"Ziver," he said firmly, "I'm not going anywhere."

She struggled for a moment against his hold, her eyes glazed with lust, until, slowly, she seemed to snap out of her frenzy. Her eyes cleared and her gaze filled with guilt as she looked at his neck. He guessed he was already sporting a bruise there.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"No need," he answered, loosening his grip on her shoulders. "Just tell me what this is all about…"

Ziva looked down at her feet for a moment, then back up at his eyes. "It's just…after you left me in Tel Aviv, I thought I would never be again with you. I thought there was also the chance I would never see you again. But now you are here…and we have just…I was afraid it was only a dream."

"It's not a dream, Ziva. It's real—let me prove it."

Gibbs bent his head and took her mouth in a demanding kiss, his tongue plunging deeply into her willing mouth. She responded with ardour, and the fire between them sparked again, although it was now mutual and more controlled.

In between kisses, bites, licks and grinds they managed to get rid of their clothes and it was only when his bare back rubbed against a rough wooden surface that he realized their location. They were still standing by the door, and it wasn't how he wanted to make love that time. Among other things, Ziva's wrist was still in a cast and her ribs were still sore. Making love against the wall wasn't an option.

He took her by the hand and pulled her on the bed with him, where they resumed their kisses and caresses. Gibbs was lost in the feel of his mate and he let his fangs descend, knowing well Ziva loved to see him like that. She also liked it when he teased her nipples with his sharp teeth, and he did it, again and again until she cried out.

When the pressure in his groin became too much to bear, he helped her to roll on her good side and spooned behind her, his chest pressed against her back as he raised one of her legs with a hand.

"You ready?" he whispered.

"Oh yes…" Ziva answered, turning her head so they could kiss.

Gibbs tilted his hips and thrust inside her to the hilt with a long, slow push, swallowing her cry of pleasure with his mouth.

Then he let go of her lips and started rocking into her, in and out, again and again, as their breaking deepened, their heart rate increased and their moans and groans filled the room.

Finally, when he felt he was close, he let go of her leg and used his hand to rub at her core, wanting her to finish before or with him.

As her muscles started to clamp around him, Gibbs lowered his head and bit into her neck. Ziva cried out sharply and, as the taste of her blood flooded his mouth, he let go of his control and came.

Minutes later, as he regained his wits, he slipped out of Ziva and rolled onto his back. His mate turned around and lay with her head on his chest and her hand on his belly.

//I love you, Jethro,// she whispered into his mind before closing her eyes.

//I love you too, Ziva,// he murmured back, before sleep caught up with him.

----

Liked the hot action? Let me know...please. There is more action ahead...but not of this kind. Someone is going to give them a rough wake up...


	8. Chapter 8

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A couple of hours later, Gibbs woke up and stretched. He opened his eyes and saw Ziva observing him, her head supported by her bent elbow.

"What?" he asked, perplexed by the look in her eyes.

"Your chest hair, Jethro."

He frowned and looked down at his chest. "Something wrong with it? I thought you liked it, you're always playing with it."

"Oh, I like it all right," she reached out with her hand to caress his chest. "It's just that when we got together it was almost completely grey, while now it's dark." She smiled. "You're getting younger and if we aren't careful, you'll soon need to start dyeing your hair grey, for it will start darkening too."

He nodded serious, "You're right, we need to be more careful. I can't start to visibly rejuvenate. I'll limit my drinking to just a few drops instead of a whole sip or I'll space my drinking out more—but there is no way I'll dye my chest hair grey! It's dark, it stays dark," he exclaimed glaring down at his chest. He then left the bed, walked to pick up his boxers from where he had dropped them and added, hands on hips. "You think we could go out to find a restaurant? We need to celebrate."

"I thought we already did," Ziva teased, as she rose from the bed. She walked toward him wrapped in the sheet and kissed him deeply.

Gibbs let her have her way with him for a moment, then lightly slapped her half-covered bottom. "Go take a shower as I straighten out the mess we made."

"Always so Marine-tidy," Ziva commented with fondness, letting the sheet fall from her body as she walked to the bathroom. On the threshold, she stopped and threw him a sultry look that in any other occasion would have made him follow her without thinking twice—but not this time.

They had spent most of the past ten days surviving on sandwiches as they ran from one office to another in order to have all the paperwork done and now he really needed a good full meal. So he shook his head and watched as Ziva pouted and disappeared into the bathroom.

Gibbs collected their clothes from the floor, put them on a chair and remade the bed.

He was smoothing the coverlet when he heard a loud crash and suddenly the door was slammed open. He took an instinctive jump back, putting the bed between himself and the door and reached out toward the bedside table and his gun.

However, before he could grab it, a voice ordered in a heavily accented English, "Don't move, Special Agent Gibbs."

He recognized the voice before the speaker appeared from behind the two young, burly men that had broken in.

"Director David," Gibbs answered with a snarl.

David entered the room as his cronies closed the door and stepped in front of it, blocking it.

The Mossad director took in his lack of clothes and the older man's nostrils flared when his eyes posed on the purplish mark Ziva had put on his neck.

"Gibbs..." he hissed, "I should have realized your interest in my daughter wasn't purely professional, but I never thought you would take advantage of her…where is she?"

"I'm here, Father," Ziva answered walking out from the bathroom, wearing a bathrobe.

Eli David smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Ziva…I'm so happy to see you again."

"The feeling isn't mutual," she answered coldly, as she stepped near Gibbs.

"Now Ziva, don't be so spiteful. I know you are upset by how things went in Somalia, but as soon as you calm down-"

"- I don't think I'll ever calm down," she retorted.

"Shh, dear. Now dress, it's time to go home."

"My home is in America, with Jethro," she reached out with her good hand and he squeezed her fingers in support, while never taking his eyes off David.

"With this old man?" Eli David looked at Gibbs with disdain. "You need someone younger, someone like Michael. You were happy with him, weren't you?"

"No, never. I just used him to blow smoke in your eyes and not let you see to whom my heart belonged. I used him, as he and you used me…father." Ziva pronounced the last word like an insult.

"Mind your words, Ziva! You are still a Mossad officer and as director I order you to dress and come with me."

"Then I resign-effective immediately."

"If you resign, you won't be able to work again for NCIS, and be sure I'll do everything I can to stop you from getting another visa for the USA."

Gibbs saw Ziva smirk as her eyes flashed, "Too late: Jethro and I married this morning, but all the paperwork – we have submitted all the forms we could think of: I-130, CR1, I-129F, K3, you name it, we filled it—is by now on the table of some top brass of the US Department of State. It helped that the man who rescued me half dead in the desert took a liking for me. He turned out to be a general of the Ethiopian Army, and he is a good friend of the US Ambassador and the Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs."

Eli David all but roared and pointed an accusing finger at Gibbs. "You! I won't let you take my daughter away! Asher, Elad, teach him a lesson!"

The two younger men stepped toward him as Ziva hissed in alarm, "Jethro, they are both Kidon!"

"Don't worry," he growled. "They're no match for my…skills," he briefly flashed his fangs at her then moved to intercept his attackers.

Gibbs had always kept his greater vampire strength and fastness under control, never letting them show, because his Mom had drilled into him the need to conceal his skills and nature and never do things that might rise suspicions that he might be different from an average man.

However, this time, Gibbs decided to make full use of his strength and reflexes to end the fight quickly. He didn't want the noise to alert other hotel patrons, but most of all he wanted to show Eli David what this 'old man' could do to his trained assassins.

When he was done, and the two Mossad officers were lying unconscious on the floor, he moved toward the stunned Eli David. Before the other man could grab his gun, he wrapped his right hand around his neck and raised Ziva's father off the floor.

David dug his fingers into Gibbs' forearm, trying to make him loosen his grip, but he reacted in the opposite way, cutting off his breath a little more, although not enough to harm the man.

"Now you'll stop struggling and listen to me," Gibbs growled baring his fangs and took a perverse delight upon seeing the terror in the other man's eyes. So even the big, bad Mossad director was scared by vampires…

Eli David ceased his struggle and Gibbs stared at him, his eyes unblinking and fixed.

Gibbs felt Ziva put a hand on his bare shoulder, the touch soft, almost hesitant. He felt she was awed, perhaps even a bit scared by him. She had never seen him fight as a vampire before, and he knew she was concerned about her father. David might be a bastard, but he was still the man who gave her life.

"Don't worry," he whispered without stopping to stare at his captive, "I won't harm him."

"I know," she answered, squeezing his shoulder.

Gibbs returned all his focus to David and turned on him the power his kin simply called 'persuasion'. It was a power mostly used to put their donors in trance and erase their memories, but it would work well this time too.

He put his mouth near Eli David's ear and murmured, "You'll let Ziva go and won't contact her again as the Mossad director, but only as her father."

"Yes," the other man answered, his voice flat and his eyes blank.

"You'll be happy for our marriage and won't do anything to make our life difficult."

"Yes."

"You'll forget everything you saw today. You'll return to your place convinced you, Ziva and I spent a nice afternoon talking while your men guarded the door."

"Yes."

"Good. Now wait outside, I'll send your men to you in a few moments."

"Yes."

Gibbs put David down, let go of his throat and watched as he walked outside the hotel room. Then he knelt near the two Mossad officers and conditioned them too, implanting in them the idea they had spent the afternoon standing on guard in the corridor, and that their bruises had been caused during an attempted robbery.

Gibbs kept the door open as the officers joined their boss, watched as they all walked away, and then turned to face Ziva.

He was a little uncertain of how she would react to what she had just seen, but his concern was put at rest when she flung herself into his arms without hesitation.

They kissed for a long moment, then he pulled back and whispered, "So, Mrs Gibbs, I think you've a shower to take…"

"Still hungry?"

"Starving."

"Then I'll go to take it…alone…."

"Yep."

As Ziva walked to the bathroom, Gibbs thought about the many showers they would share in the future—and grinned.

-----

Liked it? I confess I wanted to see Gibbs teach a lesson to Eli David since I saw his smirk when Gibbs walked away from Ziva in the airport scene in "Aliyah"...


	9. Chapter 9

**Epilogue**

**Three Weeks Later**

The elevator doors opened and Ziva and Gibbs stepped inside the NCIS squad room.

He had called ahead to announce his return from his sudden 'vacation', so he wasn't surprised when he saw Ducky and Abby standing by his desk along with DiNozzo and McGee, all of them sporting a happy but stunned look on their faces.

It wasn't just because they were surprised to see Ziva again; it was mostly because of the way Gibbs' right arm was possessively wrapped around her waist, a half embrace that no one would mistake as one between colleagues or even friends.

The couple stepped into the space between the desks, but before Gibbs could say anything to make the four people standing there close their mouths, Vance's appearance did the trick.

He let go of his wife's waist and straightened, as she did the same at his side.

"Director Vance," Ziva bowed her head in salute.

"Ziva. Welcome back. I'm happy to see you recovered well from your injuries."

Gibbs saw Tony throw a startled look at her and open his mouth, probably to ask "What injuries?", but Vance's voice blocked him.

"I assume there won't be more impromptu absences in the future," he commented, facing Gibbs.

"No, Director."

"Good." Vance paced for a moment between the desks, followed by six expecting gazes, and then he stopped and stared straight at husband and wife.

"Special Agent Gibbs," he said, addressing Gibbs.

"Yes, sir?"

"Special Agent Gibbs," and the director focused on Ziva as they heard the collective gasp of their friends and team members.

"Yes, Director?"

"I've decided to leave you two in the same team. It's highly unusual to have a married couple working together, but I trust you to behave professionally while at on the job."

Gibbs nodded, imitated by Ziva, as he struggled to control his surprise.

While it was true Vance had smoothed things to allow Ziva to become a full member of NCIS, he hadn't expected the director would let them work together.

Perhaps Leon thought theirs was only a marriage of convenience, a way to take her away from Eli David, or perhaps he thought he could use her and their relationship to control Gibbs.

Whatever the reason, Gibbs was glad for his decision and he knew he and Ziva would have no problems in working together. After all, they had been a couple for the past year and half, and no one, not even Tony DiNosey, had noticed anything different.

Vance gave them another penetrating glance then walked away.

As Ziva moved to put her backpack on her desk, Gibbs looked at the four faces still staring at him and snapped, "What?"

Finally Tony managed to regain some of his wits. "Agent Gibbs?" he croaked looking at Ziva.

"Married couple?" McGee echoed as if the idea was completely alien to him.

Abby instead began to grin, and Ducky shook his head with a mix of fondness and amusement.

"Yep. We have been together for the past year and half," Gibbs answered.

"And you didn't tell me anything? Bad Gibbs!" Abby pouted.

"Abs…"

Abby glared at him, but it didn't last long. "Come to think of it, you've been more relaxed in the past months…I should have investigated why…"

DiNozzo and McGee exchanged a look and Gibbs saw in their eyes the question neither of them wanted to voice aloud.

_And Rivkin?_

Ziva understood too and walking in front of the two agents, she said, "Michael Rivkin was a colleague, a friend and a man my father would have liked to see married to me. I…played along to protect my relationship with Jethro."

"Then, that day in Tel Aviv?" Tony asked, as the phone of Gibbs' desk started ringing. He went to answer but kept on listening to their conversation, not as her husband, but as their team leader. He needed to smooth things between them, otherwise their working relationship would be too strained to be efficient.

"I was shocked, Tony. I might have not loved Michael as a lover, but he was a dear friend. Also, we were observed, and I needed to keep on playing my role." Ziva bowed her head and took a step forward. "I apologize if I hurt you, both physically and emotionally.

As he listed to the phone's speaker Gibbs smiled upon seeing his wife offer her hand and Tony take it, just after the barest of hesitation.

Abby squealed in delight and clapped her hands, while Ducky and McGee nodded. Gibbs knew it would take longer for Ziva and DiNozzo to put what had happened completely behind them, but at least they had taken a big step in the right direction.

He put down the phone and whistled, silencing Abby's enthusiastic babbling, Ducky's congratulations, McGee's asking Ziva when and where the wedding had taken place and Tony's confident answer he would be able to discover it in thirty minutes.

"Party is over!" he said. "We'll continue this evening, my house—our house. You're all invited. Now gear up, we've a dead Marine in Quantico. Ziva, we'll get your stuff when we're back."

"I'm gonna get down to put Major Mass Spec on red alert, ready for all the evidence you'll bring me," Abby said, but on her way to the lift, she stopped, came back and hugged Gibbs. "I can still do this, can't I? Ziva won't be jealous?"

"You can, and nope," he answered, kissing her cheek. "Now go."

As Abby walked away, the whole team moved toward the elevator, Gibbs in the rear. He slowed his steps, watching as Ziva and McGee talked about something, Tony looked over them and Ducky tried to intervene with one of his anecdotes.

He nodded to himself. His family was already reconnecting and soon the recent crisis and separation would be relegated to the past or became, just as in his and his wife's case, a cherished memory.

Then his features hardened as he quickened his steps again. There was a dead Marine in Quantico and it wasn't the time for emotional stuff…but that night, in their bed, he planned to be a hell of emotional with his wife…

_//Promise?//_ Ziva's asked into his mind.

_//Promise.//_ Gibbs answered as he stepped into the elevator and pressed the garage floor button. _//Promise.//_

THE END

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That's all for now. Thank you for your reviews and support. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I did when I wrote it. I don't know if there willl be more stories in this AU, but there will certainly be more Gibbs/Ziva stories. Stay tuned for them! *wink*


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